Method for reducing contaminants in pulp prior to ozone bleaching

ABSTRACT

A process for conditioning an ozone gas recycle stream in an ozone pulp bleaching process, wherein the level of carbon dioxide in the recycle stream is controlled to allow full capacity operation of the ozone generator. Carbon dioxide concentration is identified over the relevant operational ranges and maximum concentration is identified for full capacity/optimum efficiency operation. Specific methods are described for controlling carbon dioxide concentration including purging a portion of the recycle stream, counter-current scrubbing of the recycle stream with an alkaline solution and passing the recycle stream through an adsorbent material. Contaminants entering the system also may be reduced by directing the purged recycle stream, which is relatively oxygen rich, into the dewatering press where pulp consistency is increased. In this manner nitrogen surrounding the pulp is displaced by oxygen and thus, does not enter the bleaching/ozone system with the pulp.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 07/739,050, filed Aug. 1,1991.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the conditioning of a recycle streamfor use in ozone generation processes. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to the elimination of contaminants from an ozonerecycle stream resulting from ozone bleaching of wood pulp.

In general, techniques for generation of ozone are well known to thoseskilled in the art. While a great variety of methods are known, only twoare of significant commercial importance. These methods are ultra-violetradiation of air or oxygen, and corona or electrical discharge in air oroxygen. The ultra-violet radiation method is capable of producing onlylow concentrations of ozone and is thus generally limited to foodpreparation processes. The relatively high concentrations of ozonerequired for processes such as waste treatment or pulp bleachingnecessitate the use of the corona or electrical discharge method.

Due to impurities in air, ozone generation using air is limited toconcentrations of about 4% by weight. Use of pure oxygen allows theconcentration to be increased; however, pure oxygen can be an expensiveraw material. It is therefore desirable to recycle the oxygen containinggas discharged after the ozone is used for its intended purpose. Whenthis gas is recycled, various contaminants must be removed from therecycle stream to maintain a minimum efficiency in the ozone generationprocess.

A number of different techniques are known in the art for removingcontaminants, including carbon dioxide, from an ozone generation recyclestream. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,151,943 discloses a method forpurifying exit oxygen in an ozone generation system. This reference istypical of the prior art references in that it recognizes thatcontaminants affect the efficiency of ozone generation, but does notdiscuss a specific relationship between contaminant level and generationefficiency. Generally contaminants were looked upon as diluents whichdisplace oxygen.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,963,625, 3,748,262 and 4,430,306 disclose the use ofmolecular sieve materials or adsorbent materials such as zeolite andaluminosilicate to remove contaminants in an ozone generation recyclesystem. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,287,130 and 4,399,292 each disclosecounter-current scrubbing with alkaline materials such as sodiumhydroxide to remove organic compounds from the recycle stream. The '130patent also discusses scrubbing with bicarbonate solutions to removecarbon dioxide, as well as tapping out inorganic components of theexhaust gas. U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,637 discloses an ozone waste treatmentsystem wherein only a portion of the "off gas" is recycled to the ozonegenerator in order to reduce the amount of contaminants in the feed gas.

In addition to the above references, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,700,648,3,421,999, and 3,715,430, each disclose the removal of carbon dioxide inan ozone generation feed gas, although not utilizing a recycle system.The '430 and '999 patents use activated charcoal filters. The '648patent contemplates the use of adsorbers or scrubbers which utilizesodium hydroxide or soda lime.

The references discussed above all describe methods and apparatus forremoving various contaminants from a recycle stream or eliminatingcarbon dioxide from an ozone generation feed gas. However, none of thesereferences discuss specific levels of contaminants or contaminantremoval. Additionally, none of the above references disclose ozonegenerating and recycle gas conditioning under conditions associated withozone bleaching of wood pulp. U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,694 shows a blockdiagram of an ozone no details of operation are disclosed and, like thereferences discussed above, required levels of contaminant removal arenot discussed. Ozone pulp bleaching can produce high levels of carbondioxide; levels which apparently were not appreciated in the varioussystems disclosed in the prior art.

Prior art predicted ozone generating ; efficiency does not show aparticular concern with respect to carbon dioxide levels over alloperational ranges. As with other contaminants, carbon dioxide wasconsidered primarily a diluent with any detrimental effects on ozonegeneration caused simply by a reduction in the amount of oxygen present.Cromwell and Manely, Effect of Gaseous Diluents on Energy Yield of OzoneGeneration from Oxygen, Ozone Chemistry and Technology, Advances inChemistry Series No. 21, pp. 309-10, (American Chemical Society, March,1959) state that little loss in energy yield (ozone produced per unitenergy applied) is expected for carbon dioxide concentrations in thefeed gas up to 10 wt%. This has become generally accepted in the art.

Ozone generation efficiency depends on a variety of factors other thancarbon dioxide content and overall oxygen purity. The general effect ofvarious factors is discussed in Nebel, Ozone, "Encyclopedia of ChemicalTechnology", vol. 16, pp. 693-96 (3d ed., John Wiley & Sons 1981). Ofthe various factors discussed, generator size, power density, flow ratemost directly impact on the cost of generation. Thus, it is possible tomaintain apparent generation efficiency at high carbon dioxide contents.However, while increasing the generator size, reducing power density orreducing the actual flow rate maintains an apparent efficiency, capitalcosts are increased or productivity is decreased. As a result, nooverall increase in cost efficiency of the ozone generation plant andrecycle system is actually achieved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to operate an ozonerecycle system in a pulp bleaching process in a manner which utilizesthe full generation capacity of the ozone generator. In achieving thisobject, it has been observed that the actual amount of carbon dioxideproduced in a pulp bleaching process is greater than previouslypredicted. Also, carbon dioxide has much greater effect on the ozonegeneration efficiency than was previously recognized in the art. Thus,the present invention provides for removal of carbon dioxide and othercontaminants in amounts sufficient to prevent build up in the ozonerecycle stream of a pulp bleaching process. This provides the advantageof maintaining a higher ozone generation efficiency in a smaller sizegenerator than was previously possible, thereby reducing the overallcost of operating such a system.

The process according to the present invention generally includes thefollowing steps: An oxygen containing feed gas is provided to an ozonegenerator. Ozone is generated from the oxygen containing gas to producean ozone rich oxygen gas which preferably has an ozone concentration ofabout 6 wt%. Pulp is bleached with the ozone rich gas and, as a result,produces an exhaust gas containing contaminants including relativelylarge amounts of carbon dioxide. Contaminants are removed from theexhaust gas to produce a recycle gas. The recycle gas is directed intothe ozone generator to provide at least a portion of the oxygencontaining feed gas used to generate the ozone. In order to allow theozone generator to operate at full capacity, or at least approachingfull capacity, a sufficient amount of produce the recycle gas. Theamount removed preferably maintains the carbon dioxide concentration atabout 6 wt% or less in the feed gas.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, carbon dioxide isremoved by purging a portion of the exhaust gas. The unpurged portionbecomes the recycle gas that is mixed with a fresh oxygen containinggas. The mixture forms the feed gas and is then directed into the ozonegenerator.

In an another preferred embodiment of the present invention, carbondioxide is removed by passing the exhaust gas through a pressure swingadsorbtion unit.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, carbondioxide is removed by counter-current scrubbing of the exhaust gas withan alkaline material. Alkaline materials may be conveniently obtainedfrom sources associated with pulping and bleaching processes, such asoxidized white liquor.

A further embodiment of the invention utilizes at least a portion of thepurged exhaust gas by directing it into the hood of a dewatering presslocated in the associated pulp processing stream, upstream of thebleaching reactor. The dewatering press is used to increase theconsistency of the pulp by squeezing it to force out water. When thepulp expands after squeezing, it normally absorbs the surrounding airwhich is primarily nitrogen. This nitrogen normally would be introducedinto the bleaching reactor with the pulp and form part of the exhaustgas from the reactor. However, by directing at least a portion of theoxygen rich exhaust gas to the dewatering press, the ambient air isdisplaced and nitrogen does not enter the pulp in large quantities.

The invention further comprises an apparatus for reducing theconcentration of nitrogen gas in pulp while increasing the consistencyof the pulp. The apparatus comprises means for increasing the and meansfor forming a blanket of oxygen rich gas which substantially surroundsand contacts the pulp as the consistency thereof is increased. Theoxygen rich gas fills voids created within the pulp by the action of theconsistency increasing means. The blanket of oxygen rich gas is createdby surrounding the pulp consistency increasing means with hood means.The apparatus further comprises means for directing an oxygen rich gas,preferably a portion of the exhaust gas from an associated ozone recyclesystem, containing at least about 80% oxygen into the hood means.

The pulp consistency increasing means comprises at least two rollers forpressing the pulp. Upon exiting the rollers the pulp expands as notedabove, forming voids within the pulp particles which then fill with theoxygen rich gas.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparentfrom the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments,illustrated in the drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram generally illustrating the processaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a graph plotting ozone yield (generation efficiency) in 1bs/kW-hr versus the carbon dioxide content of the feed gas in weightpercent;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating two different preferredembodiments of the present invention which utilize essentially the samecomponents;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a further preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 a schematic diagram illustrating another preferred embodiment ofthe present invention wherein purged exhaust gas is directed to the hoodof the dewatering press;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view, partially broken away, of a dewateringpress provided with the modified hood of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 6 taken along line7--7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The basic process according to the present invention is represented bythe flow diagram in FIG. 1. A make-up gas of pure oxygen, an oxygen-airmixture, or purified air is fed into the system at oxygen-air input 10.This mixes with the recycle stream to form a feed gas 12 for ozonegenerator 14. Ozone rich gas 15 from ozone generator 14 is mixed withpulp 16 in the ozone reactor 18 to carry out the bleaching process.Bleached pulp 20 and exhaust gas 22 exit the ozone reactor 18,whereafter the exhaust gas 22 flows through contaminant removal stage24. Contaminants 26 are removed by a number of different methodsaccording to the present invention. After removal of contaminants 26,recycle gas 28 is dried in dryer 30. Dried recycle gas 32 is thendirected into the feed gas for the ozone generator.

The various contaminants removed include carbon dioxide, carbonmonoxide, hydrocarbons and residual ozone. Other contaminants may beremoved as necessary. In particular, nitrogen can be removed ifintroduced with the pulp or input gas. The pulp bleaching process itselfdoes not produce nitrogen as a by-product. Specific steps of contaminantremoval according to the present invention are discussed in greaterdetail below.

As discussed above, in the prior art contaminants were generallyappreciated only for their effect as diluents. A diluent simply has theeffect of displacing oxygen in the feed gas and thus reducing the amountof oxygen present to be converted to ozone. However, the applicants haveidentified carbon dioxide as a particularly deleterious contaminant.That is, it has been discovered that carbon dioxide in the feed gas tothe ozone generator has a negative impact on ozone generation beyond itseffect as a diluent.

The actual effect of carbon dioxide is illustrated in FIG. 2, whichpresents the ozone generation energy yield versus the carbon dioxidecontent of the feed gas for an ozone generation system as describedbelow. Curve X represents the prior art predicted effect of carbondioxide on energy yield in the system. As is apparent, the predictedeffect is minimal over the range of interest. Furthermore, the prior artdid not appreciate the interrelationship between flow rate and carbondioxide content with regard to their impact on efficiency. This isbecause the prior art considered carbon dioxide as a diluent only. Infact, Cromwell and Manely, a leading source on the affect of gaseousdiluents in ozone generation (discussed above in the Background of theInvention), equate the effects of argon and carbon dioxide atconcentrations of up to about 10%. Both were said to produce littlechange in energy yield.

In contrast to the prior art prediction of little change, curves Y and Zrepresent the actual loss in ozone energy yield caused by carbon dioxidein the feed gas as determined by the applicants. Curve Y representsone-half the design flow rate and curve Z the full design flow rate. Theinaccuracy of the prior art prediction is immediately apparent. It isbelieved that carbon dioxide has this exaggerated affect on energy yieldas compared to that of a simple diluent because it unexpectedly reactswhen subjected to the high voltage electrical discharge in the ozonegenerator. In this unexpected reaction the carbon dioxide is convertedto carbon monoxide and in the process uses energy which would otherwisebe used for ozone production. It is also believed that the negativeeffect is increased by the fact that the carbon dioxide/carbon monoxidereaction is a reversible reaction. Therefore, additional energy is lostin converting the carbon monoxide back into carbon dioxide and then thereaction repeats, using further energy.

The data points for the present invention shown in FIG. 2 were generatedwith a small test ozone generator having a full design, specific flowrate of about 0.83 lbs./hr.ft² (pounds per hour per square feet). Thegenerator operated at between about 600-800 Hz and at approximately10,000 volts. The relationship illustrated in FIG. 2 is not dependent onsize and also holds true for larger systems. The test generator used wasa scaled down version of a commercially available generator, ABB/OzoniaOF219L. However, the specific flow rate of the commercial generator isabout 0.93 lbs./hr.ft². The difference between the specific flow rateswas due to the scaling down process.

As will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art, thegenerator parameters may be varied according to known relationshipsbased on the disclosure contained herein, without departing from thescope of the present invention. In particular, ozone adjusted dependingon system requirements. The stated parameters are intended in no way tolimit the scope of the present invention.

Ozone bleaching of pulp under the above-described preferred conditionsproduces between about 0.1 to 0.5 pounds, usually within about 0.18 to0.46 pounds and typically about 0.23 pounds of carbon dioxide per poundof ozone consumed in the bleaching process. This results in theproduction of typically about 3.3 pounds of carbon dioxide for every airdried ton (ADT) of pulp bleached. The applicants have determined that,for optimal bleaching, the ozone concentration in the gas streamentering the pulp bleaching reactor should not fall below approximately6 wt% at the design flow rate. A suitable bleaching process and reactoris described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/604,849, filed Oct.26, 1990 which is specifically incorporated herein by reference.

To achieve this ozone concentration the carbon dioxide concentration inthe feed gas should not exceed 6 wt%. Carbon dioxide concentration maybe decreased below 6 wt% without negatively impacting generationefficiency. However, reductions below this level provide decreasingbenefits and can actually decrease overall cost efficiency due to theadded cost of unnecessarily removing additional carbon dioxide.

The amount of carbon dioxide produced by ozone pulp bleaching isrelatively large: In general, it is much larger than the amounts ofcarbon dioxide generated in other prior art ozone applications. Forexample, according to the manufacturer the preferred ozone generatorsdescribed above should be capable of producing 6 wt% concentration ozoneat the design flow rate so long as the oxygen purity of the feed gas ismaintained at 85 wt% (or more), regardless of the make-up of theremaining 15 wt%. However, if these generators are included in a recyclesystem as shown in FIG. 1 and operated according to the prior art withthe contaminant removal accomplished by purging a portion of the exhaustgas and adding oxygen make-up gas to maintain the overall oxygen purityin the feed gas at wt%, the carbon dioxide level in the feed gas wouldrise to about 9.3 wt%. This level, shown in Example I, would beconsidered acceptable according to the prior art. At this level ofcarbon dioxide concentration, the ozone generators described above wouldbe unable to produce 6 wt% ozone rich gas without a significantreduction in flow rate.

There are a number of known ways to increase the ozone concentration inthe gas exiting an ozone generator. The most direct solution in theprior art would have been to increase the power input to the ozonegenerator. However, because ozone generation efficiency decreases aspower density increases, a point of diminishing returns is reached whereozone concentration cannot be further increased by this method.Increased power also involves increased cost. The further solution inthe prior art would have been to increase the generator size, thusincreasing efficiency by operating at a lower power density. Anotherprior art solution would be to decrease flow rate through the generator,but while concentration can be increased, the total volume of ozoneproduced is decreased due to the lower flow rate.

Each of the prior art solutions listed above results in an increase inthe cost of ozone production, either due to decreased productivity orincreased capital or operating costs. These increased costs arisebecause the generator is not operating at full capacity. Operation atfull capacity occurs when the ozone generator is producing a maximumozone concentration at a given generator size, power density and flowrate such that the only way to increase the concentration is to changeone of those parameters and thereby incur a productivity loss or anincrease in operating or capital cost. The practical effect of each ofthese changes is the same as increasing the size of the generator whenthe total amount of ozone produced is considered.

The effect of an increase in generator size under these circumstances isto create a wasted or excess generation capacity because the fullcapacity cannot be utilized due to the previously unrecognized effectsof carbon dioxide. By employing the teachings of the present invention,the excess capacity used to compensate for the effects of carbon dioxidemay be eliminated. Two possible, beneficial options result: (1)generator size can be reduced to operate at full capacity, therebyreducing system capital costs; or (2) generator size can be maintainedto allow for future production increases by utilizing generator capacitywhich, under the prior art, was wasted. The second option isparticularly useful for an existing plant which may increase productionby employing the generation system.

FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment of is controlled bycontinuously purging a portion of the exhaust gas. For ease ofreference, this embodiment is referred to below as the "purge only"embodiment. In the system shown in FIG. 3, oxygen make-up gas 40 ismixed with dried recycle gas 86 to form a feed gas 42. Feed gas 42 isdirected into ozone generator 44 and thereafter, ozone rich oxygen gas46 passes through ozone reactor 48 where it bleaches pulp 50. Bleachedpulp 52 is removed from ozone reactor 48 and exhaust gas 54 is directedto a counter-current scrubber 56.

Counter-current scrubber 56 uses water 58 as a scrubbing material toremove entrained pulp fibers from the exhaust gas in a solution 60. Theoperation of a counter-current scrubber in this manner will beunderstood by persons of ordinary skill in the art.

After scrubber 56, the exhaust gas pressure is maintained by compressor64 and directed through thermal destruct 68 and catalytic destruct 72for initial contaminant removal. Each of these components are alsocommercially available and understood by persons skilled in the art.Thermal destruct 68 removes carbon monoxide generated by the bleachingprocess and residual or unused ozone. Residual ozone exiting the reactoris considered a contaminant because it may not be directed back into therecycle stream dryer 84 or released to the atmosphere. Catalyticdestruct 72 eliminates hydrocarbons and any remaining carbon monoxide.

The carbon dioxide level in the system is controlled by purging aportion of the exhaust gas at purge 76. The purged portion forms purgegas 70. After purge 76, the total mass of recycle gas 78 is reduced ascompared to exhaust gas 74 by the mass of purge gas 70. The weightpercent concentration of carbon dioxide and other contaminants remainsconstant between 74 and 78. When make-up gas 40 is mixed with desiredpredetermined level.

After purge 76, recycle gas 78 is cooled in cooling unit 80. Cooledrecycle gas 82 then is directed to a desiccant drier 84, which uses asilica gel and molecular sieve to eliminate moisture and produce a driedrecycle gas 86. Cooling unit 80 and desiccant drier 84, are alsocommercially available components which operate in a known manner, aswould be understood by those of skill in the art.

Another preferred embodiment according to the present invention may bedescribed utilizing substantially the same components as shown in FIG.3. However, in this embodiment counter-current scrubber 56 employs analkaline scrubbing material 58 (rather than just water) to remove carbondioxide, as well as entrained pulp fibers. Preferred scrubbing materialsinclude caustic soda (NaOH), hydrated lime (Ca(OH)₂) and oxidized whiteliquor (OWL, which contains approximately 6.7 lbs. NaOH/cu.ft.). Otheralkaline mixtures may also be suitable for this purpose.

With a pulp bleaching reactor that produces 3.3 lbs. CO₂ /ADT pulp asdescribed above, the amount of alkaline material required to remove 95%of the carbon dioxide per air dried ton (ADT) pulp is:

Caustic soda--5.69 lbs.

Hydrated lime--5.27 lbs.

OWL--6.35 gallons

In this embodiment (referred to below as the "alkaline scrub"embodiment) a purge is maintained in order to control the overall oxygenpurity due to the presence of nitrogen introduced with the pulp ormake-up gas and/or argon introduced with the make-up gas. Nitrogen andargon do act as diluents and the concentrations must be controlled tomaintain oxygen purity. Purge levels required are explained in moredetail below with reference to the examples.

The alkaline scrub embodiment is particularly well-suited for use inpulp bleaching processes. This pulping and bleaching systems. Forexample, oxidized white liquor may be supplied from the digestion-liquorrecovery process of an associated pulping-plant. A source of causticsoda (NaOH) may be the pulp bleaching extraction ("E") stage. A smallamount easily can be diverted to the alkaline scrubber for carbondioxide removal.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further alternative preferred embodiment accordingto the present invention. In this embodiment, feed gas 100 is directedto ozone generator 44, which provides an ozone rich gas 102 forbleaching pulp 50 in ozone reactor 48. Again, bleached pulp 52 isremoved from reactor 48, and exhaust gas 108 is directed to waterscrubber 56 where entrained pulp fibers are removed in solution 60. Asin FIG. 3, the exhaust gas again passes through compressor 64, and theresulting compressed gas passes through thermal destruct 68. However,after thermal destruct 68, the exhaust gas is directed to pressure swingadsorption ("PSA") unit 116 where carbon dioxide and other contaminantsare removed.

The PSA unit replaces the catalytic destruct unit in FIG. 3. Dependingon the selection and level of contaminants removed in PSA unit 116,varying amounts of purge gas 70 are removed through purge 76 as with theother embodiments. An amount of oxygen make-up gas 40 is added toreplace the removed contaminants including the purge gas. In general,the operation of the PSA embodiment is analogous to the alkaline scrubembodiment because carbon dioxide is removed from the system by meansother than purge 76.

Pressure swing adsorption devices suitable for PSA unit 116 aregenerally commercially available. The adsorbent selected must removecarbon dioxide in the levels described herein. Depending on the othercontaminants present, adsorbents may be selected and combined by aperson of ordinary skill in the art to achieve the desired level ofoverall contaminant removal. In general, adsorbents such as silica gels,activated alumina and zeolites, or mixtures thereof are suitable. Apreferred combination of adsorbent materials is a 5A molecular sieve forremoval of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, combined with silica gel forremoval of hydrocarbons.

Although carbon dioxide content has been identified as a particularproblem, the diluent effect of other contaminants, especially nitrogen,can not be ignored. A further preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, illustrated in FIG. 5, is directed to this problem. In thisembodiment, purge gas 70 from purge 76 is directed to the hood 130surrounding dewatering press 132 ("DWP"). The purge gas can also bedirected to pulp stream 49 in discharge chute 143 (see FIG. 6). Press132 raises the consistency of pulp 47 prior to its entering reactor 48essentially by compressing the pulp between a nip formed by two rollersto "wring-out" water. Because the cellulose pulp fibers are elastic,they form a mat which expands upon leaving the press nip. Whatever gassurrounds the pulp at this point is drawn into voids between the pulpfibers due to the sponge-like expansion of the pulp. By flooding hood130 with purge gas 70, the purge gas surrounds the pulp instead ofambient air. Thus, as the pulp particles expand after exiting therollers of the press, the voids within the pulp are filled with thepurge gas, which includes only about 15% diluents. Air which otherwisewould surround the pulp includes approximately 79% diluents, primarilynitrogen. After leaving the flooded hood 130, pulp 49 is directed to asuitable reactor feed device, such as screw feeder 134. From feed device134, pulp 50 is subsequently fed into reactor 48.

By recycling purged exhaust gas 70 to hood 130, the exhaust gas exitingozone reactor 48 can be considerably higher in oxygen content than itwould be without the introduction of the purge gas to the hood of theDWP. Thus, under many circumstances directing the purge gas to the DWPlowers the oxygen makeup requirement in the feed gas going into theozone generator and thereby creates substantial additional cost savings.While the overall oxygen purity of the feed gas can be maintained inthis manner, at the same time the carbon dioxide concentration must bekept at low levels as previously explained. In some circumstances it maynot be desirable to utilize the entire purge gas in the DWP (see ExampleIV) due to the large amount of contaminants, particularly carbondioxide, which would be reintroduced into the system with the pulp. Ifsuch were the case, it may be desirable to direct only a portion of thepurge gas to the DWP or none at all. Vent 133 and control valves 135 and137 allow the amount of purge gas 70 directed to the DWP to be preciselycontrolled to achieve a desired balance of oxygen purity and carbondioxide content.

Instead of the purge gas, any oxygen rich gas (i.e., one having anoxygen content of at least 50%, preferably 80% or more) can be used.Benefits are obtained by the substitution of any oxygen bearing gashaving an oxygen concentration which is greater than that of ambientair, so long as the selected gas stream does not contain a significantamount of carbon dioxide.

Turning now to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is illustrated an embodiment of anapparatus according to the present invention for use in surrounding thepulp at the dewatering press with a blanket of exhaust gas press 132used with the invention as depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7 is well-known inthe art and thus need not be described in detail here. It is sufficientto say that pulp 50 enters vat 136 through at least one pulp inlet 138and continuously fills vat 136 located therein. The pulp in vat 136 isdewatered by passing between press rollers 140 so as to raise it from arelatively low consistency to a high consistency between about 25 and50%, preferably between about 40-50% and most preferably about 42%.Press rollers 140 are synchronously counter-rotated by motor means 142.High consistency pulp 49 then exits hood 130 through discharge chute 143whereupon it is conveyed to reactor feed device described above. Chute143 is sealed in a manner to prevent contaminants in the pulp fromentering the surrounding atmosphere.

Purged exhaust gas 70 enters chute 143 through pipe 144 and is directedcounter-current to the flow of pulp 49. Exhaust gas 70 thus entirelyfills the space within hood 130, blanketing the pulp as it passesthrough rollers 140. As noted above, as the particles of pulp 49 expandupon exiting rollers 140, the voids within the pulp are filled with theoxygen-rich exhaust gas and this pulp, with its relatively higher levelsof oxygen and lower levels of diluents, is then subsequently fed intoozone reactor 48. Vent pipe 146 provides an exhaust to preventoverpressurization of hood 130 and to permit the elimination ofdisagreeable vapors. An exhaust fan (not shown) associated with ventpipe 146 removes the vapors from hood 130 and directs them to a bleachplant scrubber (not shown) for removing sulfur odor. Hoods of the typedescribed herein may be fabricated, for example, from glass-fiberreinforced plastic and are available from Sunds Defibrator, AB ofSundsvall, Sweden, among others. The process of the invention mayutilize more than one dewatering press if desired, although for purposesof convenience only one such press is indicated in the drawing figures.

EXAMPLES

The present invention will be further examples. These examples are basedon data generated by a computer model of the ozone generation andrecycle system according to the present invention. The examplesillustrate the principles of contaminant removal according to thepresent invention, with the ozone generation system according to thepreferred embodiment described hereinabove used for illustrationpurposes only. Thus, reference to "the ozone generator" in the examplesbelow is to that embodiment. The principles illustrated by theseexamples may be easily extended to other ozone generation systems bypersons of ordinary skill in the art by following the teachings of thepresent invention.

In each of the examples below the make-up gas on which the model wasbased contained approximately: 99.5 wt% oxygen, 0.25 wt% nitrogen and0.25 wt% argon. Amounts of make-up gas input are given in scfm at 298°K. Each of the tables show the concentrations of the gas components inweight percent, except methane (*) which is given in parts per million(ppm). Stream location in the tables refers to the points indicated bythe corresponding reference numerals in FIGS. 3 and 5. Specifically, thefeed gas to the ozone generator is indicated by 42; the exhaust gas by54; the exhaust recycle gas (after the purge) by 78. The purge ratesgiven are actual purge rates; that is, they indicate the amount actuallyremoved from the system at purge 76.

EXAMPLE I

Example I illustrates the contaminant level which would be present if arecycle system such as shown in FIG. 3 were operated according to theteachings of the prior art. As discussed, the prior art consideredcarbon dioxide only for its effect as a diluent. Thus, the prior artpredicts that the ozone generator should produce an ozone rich gashaving 6 wt% ozone so long as the oxygen content of the feed gas ismaintained at about 85 wt%. This level of oxygen purity may beaccomplished by purging approximately 12% of exhaust gas 74 at purge 76.The oxygen and contaminant levels for various points in the systemoperated under these conditions are given in Table A:

                  TABLE A                                                         ______________________________________                                        Stream                                                                        Location                                                                              O.sub.2                                                                              CO.sub.2                                                                             N.sub.2                                                                            O.sub.3                                                                            CO   CH.sub.4 *                                                                          Ar   H.sub.2 O                     ______________________________________                                        54 Exhaust                                                                            78.8   9.5    5.8  0.3  0.4  91    0.2  5.1                           74 Exhaust                                                                            78.8   10.0   5.8  0.0  0.0  .9    0.2  5.1                           78 Recycle                                                                            79.6   10.1   5.9  0.0  0.0  .9    0.2  4.2                           42 Feed 85.0   9.3    5.4  0.0  0.0  .9    0.2  0.0                           ______________________________________                                         Purge Rate: 12.0%                                                             Makeup gas input: 251.2 scfm                                             

Under these conditions the carbon dioxide concentration in the feed gasentering the ozone generator (at 42) reaches equilibrium 9.3 wt%. Thisis below the 10% level where the prior art predicts little affect onozone generation. However, as discussed above and shown in FIG. 2,carbon dioxide concentrations of this level do have a significant impacton generation efficiency. Even though oxygen purity is 85 wt%, the ozonegenerator cannot operate at full capacity and will not produce 6 wt%ozone rich gas under these conditions.

EXAMPLE Il

Example II illustrates the operation of the purge only embodiment ofFIG. 3 according to the teachings of the present invention. In order tomaintain the carbon dioxide concentration in the feed gas at about 6wt%, such that the ozone generator may operate at full capacity, thepurge rate should be maintained at about 18.5%. The oxygen andcontaminant levels under these conditions are shown in Table C:

                  TABLE B                                                         ______________________________________                                        Stream                                                                        Location                                                                              O.sub.2                                                                              CO.sub.2                                                                             N.sub.2                                                                            O.sub.3                                                                            CO   CH.sub.4 *                                                                          Ar   H.sub.2 O                     ______________________________________                                        54 Exhaust                                                                            83.7   6.6    3.8  0.3  0.2  90.4  0.2  5.1                           74 Exhaust                                                                            83.9   7.0    3.8  0.0  0.0  .9    0.2  5.1                           78 Recycle                                                                            84.6   7.0    3.9  0.0  0.0  .9    0.2  4.2                           42 Feed 90.4   6.0    3.4  0.0  0.0  .9    0.2  0.0                           ______________________________________                                         Purge Rate: 18.5%                                                             Makeup Gas Input: 387.4 scfm                                             

The importance of the effect of carbon dioxide may be fully appreciatedby comparing Tables A and B. In Table A oxygen purity is maintained at85 wt% as required by the prior art, but carbon dioxide concentrationrises to 9.3 wt% and the ozone generator is unable to operate at fullcapacity. In contrast, by controlling the process according to thepresent invention to maintain carbon dioxide concentration at about 6wt%, the oxygen purity rises to about 90 wt%. This oxygen purity ishigher than necessary, but it results from the fact that carbon dioxideconcentration is maintained at the low 6 wt% level. Under theseconditions additional savings could be realized by using a lessexpensive make-up gas that had a lower oxygen content.

EXAMPLE III

Example III illustrates the benefits which can be realized in terms ofreduced make-up gas requirements by flooding the hood of the dewateringpress ("DWP") as shown in FIG. 5. However, in this example the purgerate is controlled according to the prior art, i.e. the only concern ismaintaining oxygen purity at a level of 85 wt%. This level of oxygenpurity can be achieved with a purge of only 8.3%. Table C shows theoxygen and contaminants in the system operated under these conditions:

                  TABLE C                                                         ______________________________________                                        Stream                                                                        Location                                                                              O.sub.2                                                                              CO.sub.2                                                                             N.sub.2                                                                            O.sub.3                                                                            CO   CH.sub.4 *                                                                          Ar   H.sub.2 O                     ______________________________________                                        54 Exhaust                                                                            79.6   14.1   0.3  0.3  0.6  93.1  0.3  5.0                           74 Exhaust                                                                            79.5   15.0   0.3  0.0  0.0  .9    0.3  5.0                           78 Recycle                                                                            80.3   15.1   0.3  0.0  0.0  .9    0.3  4.1                           42 Feed 85.0   14.4   0.3  0.0  0.0  .9    0.3  0.0                           ______________________________________                                         Purge Rate: 8.3% with DWP flooded                                             Makeup Gas Input: 174.7 scfm                                             

The amount of make-up gas required is substantially reduced; 174.7 scfmas compared to 251.2 scfm in Example I, which was also controlledaccording to the prior art to maintain an oxygen purity of 85%. Forapplications requiring ozone generation at relatively low weightpercentages (i.e., about 1-3%), there is a savings in amount of make-upgas. However, the above preferred ozone generator is unable to generate6 wt% ozone at the design flow rate because, by focusing on oxygenpurity only, the carbon dioxide concentration in the feed gas rises toabout 14.4 wt%.

EXAMPLE IV

Example IV illustrates the operation of the purge only embodiment,controlled according to the present invention, with the hood of thedewatering press flooded with purge gas as shown in FIG. 5. Table Dshows the oxygen and contaminant levels in the system:

                  TABLE D                                                         ______________________________________                                        Stream                                                                        Location                                                                              O.sub.2                                                                              CO.sub.2                                                                             N.sub.2                                                                            O.sub.3                                                                            CO   CH.sub.4 *                                                                          Ar   H.sub.2 O                     ______________________________________                                        54 Exhaust                                                                            87.3   6.6    0.2  0.3  0.3  90.9  0.2  5.1                           74 Exhaust                                                                            87.4   7.0    0.2  0.0  0.0  .9    0.2  5.1                           78 Recycle                                                                            88.2   7.1    0.2  0.0  0.0  .9    0.2  4.2                           42 Feed 93.5   6.0    0.3  0.0  0.0  .8    0.2  0.0                           ______________________________________                                         Purge Rate: 19.2% with DWP flooded                                            Makeup Gas Input: 402.8 scfm                                             

In the purge only embodiment, carbon dioxide concentration in theexhaust gas reaches equilibrium at about 7 wt%. This relatively highcarbon dioxide content is also present in the purge gas. When the purgegas is reintroduced into the system with the pulp by flooding the DWP, arelatively large amount of carbon dioxide enters the recycle stream.Therefore, although nitrogen can be almost eliminated from the system byflooding the DWP, a slightly higher purge rate of 19.2% (compared to18.5% in Example II) is required to compensate for carbon dioxidereintroduced with the pulp. By utilizing this higher purge rate, thecarbon dioxide level is maintained at 6 wt% in the feed gas, so that theozone generator can be operated at full capacity.

EXAMPLE V

Example V illustrates the operation of the alkaline scrub embodiment asshown in FIG. 3 according to the present invention. In this example itis assumed that the alkaline scrubber has a 90% efficiency. That is, itcontinuously removes 90% of the carbon dioxide entering the scrubber.Under these conditions enough carbon dioxide is removed so that itsconcentration is not factor in determining the purge rate. Instead, apurge rate of only about 4.8% is required to maintain the necessaryoxygen purity in the feed gas. Table E shows the oxygen and contaminantlevels:

                  TABLE E                                                         ______________________________________                                        Stream                                                                        Location                                                                              O.sub.2                                                                              CO.sub.2                                                                             N.sub.2                                                                            O.sub.3                                                                            CO   CH.sub.4 *                                                                          Ar   H.sub.2 O                     ______________________________________                                        54 Exhaust                                                                            79.5   0.2    14.5 0.3  0.1  88.5  0.3  5.3                           74 Exhaust                                                                            79.7   0.3    14.5 0.0  0.0  .9    0.3  5.3                           78 Recycle                                                                            80.4   0.3    14.6 0.0  0.0  .9    0.3  4.4                           42 Feed 85.0   0.3    14.4 0.0  0.0  .9    0.3  0.0                           ______________________________________                                         Purge Rate: 4.8%; 90% alkaline scrub                                          Makeup Gas Input: 121.9 scfm                                             

In this instance, nitrogen introduced With the pulp is the primarycontaminant which must be removed due to its effect as a diluent. Thelow purge rate achieves the necessary nitrogen removal.

EXAMPLE VI

Example VI illustrates the operation of the alkaline scrub embodimentwith the hood of the dewatering press flooded as shown in FIG. 5according to the present invention. As in Example V, a 90% efficiencyscrubber is assumed. Due to the displacement of nitrogen by oxygen inthe hood of the dewatering press, the overall nitrogen level in thesystem is substantially reduced. Oxygen purity of 97.4 wt% is achievedwith an actual purge rate of only about 1.5%. The oxygen and contaminantlevels are shown in Table F:

                  TABLE F                                                         ______________________________________                                        Stream                                                                        Location                                                                              O.sub.2                                                                              CO.sub.2                                                                             N.sub.2                                                                            O.sub.3                                                                            CO   CH.sub.4 *                                                                          Ar   H.sub.2 O                     ______________________________________                                        54 Exhaust                                                                            92.1   0.2    1.1  0.3  0.1  90.5  1.1  5.1                           74 Exhaust                                                                            92.4   0.3    1.1  0.0  0.0  .9    1.1  5.2                           78 Recycle                                                                            93.2   0.3    1.1  0.0  0.0  .9    1.1  4.3                           42 Feed 97.4   0.3    1.1  0.0  0.0  1.0   1.1  0.0                           ______________________________________                                         Purge Rate: 1.5%; 90% alkaline scrub with DWP flooded                         Makeup Gas Input: 53.1 scfm                                              

Substantial cost savings can be realized due to the reduced purge ratewhich, in turn, is directly related to the reduced amount of make-up gasto be added. The make-up gas input required is only 53.1 scfm ascompared to 121.9 scfm in Example V.

EXAMPLE VII

Example VII also illustrates the operation of the alkaline scrubembodiment without the hood of the dewatering press flooded by the purgegas according to the present invention. Again, a 90% scrubber efficiencyis assumed. However, for purposes of comparison with Example VI, thepurge rate is selected to provide an oxygen purity of 97.4 wt% in thefeed gas. In order to obtain the same oxygen purity as in Example VI,without using the purge gas to flood the hood of the dewatering press,the purge rate must be about 27.8%. At this purge rate the make-up gasinput required is 604.8 scfm--over ten times that required in ExampleVI. Table G shows the oxygen and contaminant levels in the system:

                  TABLE G                                                         ______________________________________                                        Stream                                                                        Location                                                                              O.sub.2                                                                              CO.sub.2                                                                             N.sub.2                                                                            O.sub.3                                                                            CO   CH.sub.4 *                                                                          Ar   H.sub.2 O                     ______________________________________                                        54 Exhaust                                                                            91.4   0.2    2.7  0.3  0.1  90.0  0.2  5.2                           74 Exhaust                                                                            91.6   0.3    2.7  0.0  0.0  .9    0.2  5.2                           78 Recycle                                                                            92.5   0.3    2.7  0.0  0.0  .9    0.2  4.3                           42 Feed 97.4   0.2    2.1  0.0  0.0  .7    0.3  0.0                           ______________________________________                                         Purge Rate: 27.8%; 90% alkaline scrub                                         Makeup Gas Input: 604.8 scfm                                             

The advantages of flooding the hood of the dewatering press are clearfrom a comparison of Examples VI and VII.

The detailed description of the preferred embodiments contained hereinis intended in no way to limit the scope of the invention. Based on theabove examples and teachings of the effects of carbon dioxide providedherein, persons skilled in the art will be able to select theappropriate combination of contaminant removal parameters and make-upgas additions to provide both improved operating efficiency andincreased cost savings for operation of a particular ozone generationsystem. The preferred embodiments described above are not mutuallyexclusive of one another. For example, the PSA unit according to thepresent invention may be utilized to remove contaminants from the purgedrecycle gas of the purge embodiment. The PSA cleaned purge gas then maybe directed to the ozone generator or to the hood of the dewateringpress. As will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art,various other modifications and adaptions of the structure abovedescribed are possible without departure from the spirit and scope ofthe invention; the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for reducing contaminants in pulp priorto ozone bleaching thereof, said method comprising:providing a source ofan oxygen rich gas which contains at least about 50% oxygen; pressingpulp between rollers in a pulp consistency increasing stage to provideincreased consistency pulp by removing liquid therefrom; expanding thepulp during the pulp consistency increasing stages to create voids insaid pulp; maintaining a surrounding blanket of said oxygen rich gasaround said pulp at least when the consistency is increased so that saidoxygen rich gas contacts substantially all pulp after pressing to fillsubstantially all voids in said increased consistency pulp with saidoxygen rich gas; and supplying said increased consistency pulp to anozone-pulp reaction zone for reaction with a gaseous mixture of ozoneand oxygen, wherein the amount of contaminants in said increasedconsistency pulp is reduced by the presence of the oxygen rich gas inthe voids of the pulp.
 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein theoxygen content of the oxygen rich gas is at least 80 wt.%.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1 further comprising:contacting said increasedconsistency pulp with said gaseous mixture in said ozone-pulp reactionzone to bleach said pulp by removing a substantial portion of the lignintherefrom by reaction with said ozone, while consuming a substantialportion of said ozone by reaction with said pulp, thus producing ableached pulp and an oxygen-rich exhaust gas; and directing at least aportion of the oxygen-rich exhaust gas to the consistency increasingstage as the source of the oxygen-rich gas for surrounding the pulp. 4.The method according to claim 1 which further comprises removing aportion of said gas from said pulp consistency increasing stage toprevent the build-up of vapors generated by the pulp.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1 which further comprises directing said increasedconsistency pulp to a reactor feed device after filling the voidstherein with said gas, for supplying said pulp to the ozone--pulpreaction zone.
 6. The method according to claim 1 which furthercomprises pressing said pulp in said consistency increasing stage to aconsistency of between about 25-50%.
 7. The method according to claim 6which further comprises pressing said pulp in said consistencyincreasing stage to a consistency of between about 40-50%.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 1 wherein said pulp is pressed between a nip formedby a plurality of rollers.
 9. A method for reducing contaminants in pulpprior to the ozone bleaching of the pulp, said methodcomprising:pressing pulp between rollers in a pulp consistencyincreasing stage to provide increased consistency pulp by removingliquid therefrom and expanding the pulp to create voids therein;supplying said increased consistency pulp and a gaseous mixture of ozoneand oxygen to an ozone-pulp reaction zone; contacting said increasedconsistency pulp with said gaseous mixture in said ozone-pulp reactionzone to bleach said pulp by removing a substantial portion of the lignintherefrom by reaction with said ozone, while consuming a substantialportion of said ozone by reaction with said pulp, thus producing ableached pulp and an oxygen-rich exhaust gas which contains greater than50% oxygen; and purging a portion of said oxygen-rich exhaust gas in anamount of up to about 20% by volume, directing said purged exhaust gasportion to said pulp consistency increasing stage, and forming asurrounding blanket of said purged exhaust gas portion about saidincreased consistency pulp so that said purged exhaust gas portioncontacts substantially all pulp after pressing to fill said voids insaid increased consistency pulp with said purged exhaust gas portion.10. The process according to claim 9 wherein between about 8.3 and 19.2wt.% of said exhaust gas is purged and directed to said pulp consistencyincreasing stage.
 11. A method for reducing contaminants in pulp priorto ozone bleaching of the pulp, said method comprisingproviding a sourceof an oxygen rich gas which contains at least about 50% oxygen;increasing the consistency of the pulp by pressing the pulp betweenrollers and expanding the pulp to create voids therein; forming asurrounding blanket of said oxygen rich gas around said pulp at leastwhile the consistency is being increased so that said oxygen rich gascontacts substantially all the pulp to fill substantially all voidstherein with said oxygen rich gas; and supplying said increasedconsistency pulp to an ozone-pulp reaction zone for reaction with agaseous mixture of ozone and oxygen, whereby the amount of contaminantsin said increased consistency pulp is reduced by the presence of theoxygen rich gas in the voids of the pulp.
 12. The method according toclaim 11 wherein the oxygen rich gas has an oxygen content of at leastabout 80 wt%.
 13. The method according to claim 11 which furthercomprises increasing the consistency of the pulp to between about25-50%.
 14. The method according to claim 12 which further comprisesdelignifying said increased consistency pulp by reaction with thegaseous mixture of ozone and oxygen to form bleached pulp and a spentgas containing at least about 78.8wt.% oxygen.
 15. The method accordingto claim 14 which further comprises recycling at least a portion of thespent gas as the source of oxygen rich gas.